Sand Possession
by ImaginarySuicide
Summary: He is feared. She is distrusted. He came to her world. She just wants him gone. She's decided that anything of his world is bad for her. But what if the Naruverse decides she belongs? GaaraxOC Girl finds her life changed then completely reversed.
1. Savior meets Demon

A/N: Ohayo!

Welcome to my new Naruto story- okay not new since my Beta and I have been working on it for a while now but still!

Anyways this is a story that starts of AU but... well you'll see as the story progresses

Thank you **BrairBaneRose** you're amazing!

A/N: I do not own Naruto or any original Naruto ideas

Enjoy!

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><p>'<em>Riiiiing Riiiing…'<em>

'_Riiiing Riiiing…'_

'_Riiiing Riii-"_

"Moshi moshi, Tora Dojo, this is Aya speaking."

"_Moshi moshi?"_ a familiar voice asked in exasperation. _"Aya, who in their right mind answers the phone with 'moshi moshi'? Is that even English?"_

Sighing the girl holding the phone shifted it to the other side and flicked purple eyes out the glass windows before focusing back on her friends voice. "It's Japanese for 'hello' Liza. I said that because for one this is a Japanese Dojo and two I need to keep practicing Japanese so I don't get rusty."

"_Yeah, yeah whatever",_ her friend said through the phone line. _"OH! I just got to the part where Gaara shows up! WAAAHH!"_ Aya quickly tilted the phone away from her ear to escape the scream while leafing through some papers. _"He's so cool! He stands upside down and is all like 'I'm too cold to touch'. EEEEEK!" _

Obsessed, that's her friend was but with what you might ask well it's simple 'Naruto': the Japanese manga/anime about demons and ninja. Mentally Aya sighed yes, it was a fantastically made anime with an extremely good plot, but Liza was just too infatuated by it. In fact, she had complained so much about it that Aya had lent her some of the movies- that unbeknownst to the girl had been bought just for the lending -and she still hadn't gotten them back. Not that she expected to.

"That's great Liza but I kind of have to close up the Dojo now—" she was cut off.

"_Stop or I'll kill you."_ Liza mimicked a Gaara line through the speaker that, when she said it, lacked any form of menace.

Aya rolled her eyes, focusing her hearing and managing to hear Naruto playing in the background. "You're watching the beginning of the Chunin exams while you're talking to me." She stated in annoyance. "What have I told you about calling me when you're multi-tasking and/or a Naruto Zombie?"

There was a snort delivered through the phone _"Fine fine, I'm sorry about disturbing your oh-so-eventful day."_ Liza said and Aya twitched when she heard no actual meaning in it. _"Did you kick anyone's ass on the mats today almighty Beaiko?"_

"It's Byakko, Liza" Aya corrected. An infamous white tiger that was somehow important in Japanese mythology- Aya hadn't taken the time to look because she'd been too busy fighting to get the nickname removed from her. "And no, I did not. Ever since I stopped doing regular classes and stuck with the club so I could help out here, they've been making excuses not to fight me." She huffed at the thought. "Something about 'not being obligatory anymore' or something; guess they didn't like fighting me."

Liza chuckled. _"Yeah, well I wouldn't want to fight you either."_

At this Aya pouted. "But you don't know how to fight. They do, they should stop complaining so much!"

"_Well, I think they have good reason to. I do recall an angry black belt coming back from school and taking frustrations out on everyone."_

"That was a long time ago Liza." Aya ground out with a glare fingers gripping the phone tightly. "I got through that period of life. Now. Drop. It."

"_And I thought you'd gotten through it seems to me like you haven't."_

"Go watch your addiction."

"_Fine, later."_

Click.

Tiredly, Aya pressed the 'End' button on the phone and disconnected the dial-tone, _Yeesh what a bother_. She did kind of feel guilty about lying to Liza though, but what choice did she have really? If given half the chance Liza would've droned on about Gaara this Jutsu that; it would've driven her completely insane! Then again… she hadn't really been lying, per say… just arranging words craftily and leaving out information that she never asked for. It really was her turn to lock up the Dojo so she had to clean it. She just had forgotten to add the 'I-already-cleaned-it' into the conversation.

…

Does this make her a bad person?

Shrugging it off, Aya grabbed the Dojo keys and her backpack before flicking off the last of the lights in the main room which was covered in tatami mats. She had changed from years before but she still had trouble feeling remorse, sympathy and empathy. To her it seemed a waste of emotion. But it wasn't like she thought all emotion were useless. Anger, happiness, serenity, sadness, excitement; those were some emotions she had use for.

Her black hair whipped back slightly as she walked past the fan to turn it off. She glanced at the smiling cat posed atop the desk with Japanese symbols on it and grinned back. "Konbanwa Kitty-chan!" Aya called to the figurine before stepping out into the street to lock the door and head home.

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><p>"Hey there, you guys aren't from around here are you, kids?" The gruff voice immediately caught Ayas' attention. Pausing in her careful strides through the networks of alleyways she let her eyes scan over her surroundings before settling on a smaller alley where the voice was coming from. There was a muffled girl's voice that she couldn't distinguish and the other voice laughed. "Yeah yeah girly keep talking I can't understand you and I wouldn't listen even if I could."<p>

A girl.

In an alley.

How stupid could females these days get? Aya, being a girl herself didn't really apply that motto with her since she didn't actually see that she was still considered female. All of the guys at the Dojo called her 'dude' and treated her like a guy so… in effect she was a little oblivious of how vulnerable she herself looked. Glaring at the alleyway she debated continuing on or stopping. It wasn't really her problem… But it was the right thing to do… but if she left them it would teach them to stay out of the alleys… but it could end up getting them killed. Adjusting her bag on her shoulders slightly she glanced first at the alley then towards the street she could view from her current position but wouldn't be able to once she headed towards the other one. And she was going to head to the other alley. Unfortunately her morals were running too strong today.

"Damnit all", Aya grumbled under her breath but obligingly glided silently towards the slight commotion, stopping at the very edge of the wall so she couldn't be seen just yet. Now here's where Liza would've told her to jump in with a cool move and spout out a speech that would make her coolness undeniable in her façade of hero-ness. There were reasons why Liza was not good at fighting. Instead, Aya chose the smart thing to do and cautiously peeked around the corner.

Light blue-green eyes locked with hers and she froze.

The enemy?

Or

…

The victim?

Her mind whirred crazily as she tried to assess the situation but couldn't bring herself to break eye contact. Those eyes… They weren't the eyes of an innocent. It was a cold, hard, distant gaze that had fallen on her, a killer someone who knew pain… or perhaps a former victim? All she knew was that they were trying to peer through her entire being; everything she was. _'They somehow seem familiar…'_

Abruptly she wrenched her eyes away and hastily scanned the alley. Three teenagers stood clumped together crowded by two thugs wearing all black. She quickly took stock of them; one knife, one gun, a random crow bar… not very experienced if the way the blonde guy was holding the gun was any indicator. Mentally she scoffed, these were amateurs at best and at worst some guys that got desperate- then again that's pretty much how they all began. It would be easy pickings for anyone with skills and a background to take them down, but that gun… her eyes alighted on the weapon… that gun was going to be a problem. New guys were always skittish and more liable to pull the trigger and with its aim directed at the people she was trying to save for some weird reason… it could turn out extremely bad.

"Hand over the money bitch!" The one with a crowbar snarled.

The girl said something in a language that didn't sound like English but Aya didn't pay attention as the second man cocked the pistol and leered. That wasn't a good sign and not a good sign at all.

"Ya, you whore," the blonde cackled, holding the barrel of his weapon inches away from the girls' forehead. "Hand over the doe or you get a piece of metal in your head." The girl didn't seem to get that she was in mortal danger. She frowned and looked at the gun making her cross eyed then looked back at the man around the barrel and proceeded to loudly speak out in that same language she'd been muttering in before.

Growling in irritation the bald thug ran a head over his shiny skull and forcefully pointed a crowbar in her direction. "Just shut her up already. We can pocket the money when they're all dead and scram. This isn't worth the time."

Crap.

Aya didn't have time to think, all she could do was move.

Using her superior speed which she gained from years of training to her advantage she sprinted in between the two thugs. With a swift movement she inserted herself neatly between the girl and the gun, kicking the gun out of his hand with a clean movement.

"Shit!" he cursed. His eyes fell on Aya and he curled his lip. "Move it girly, this doesn't involve you."

Stubbornly Aya leveled him with a glare that seemed to personify death itself. He obviously thought that his words were going to be enough to scare her off. That she'd had a moment of insanity and in a moment she'd gain lucidity and scurry off to a mouse hole. Her eyes narrowed and she shifted into a more stable stance so she'd be able to swivel and deflect a swipe from the other guy to. He was wrong.

"Why don't _you_ move it, girl-y?" she mimicked with an acid tone. "Can't you see that they don't want your company?" She wasn't usually this volatile or hostile unless pushed to the edge- and that took a lot- but his cursing was getting on her nerves. She wasn't angered yet but she was annoyed. And the guy with a crowbar checking her out wasn't helping her temper either.

On cue, said thug wolf-whistled to gain a fraction more of her attention that wasn't centered on the guy cradling his bruised wrist.

"Watcha doi'n back here all alone cupcake?"

Aya twitched.

Had he…just called her…_**Cupcake?**_

It took her a minute to find her voice and when she had she snapped her head in his direction with an audible 'crack'. What was wrong with this guy? He was at least thirty and she was seventeen. Se-ven-teen!

"What are you, a pedophile?" '_Registered and licensed.'_ She answered herself in her head.

Smirking the Pedi-creeper leered and sauntered closer. "Oooh, spunk, I like some spice to my girls."

Mentally she gagged, _really? That was the best he could come up with_, before she could even stop the words from tumbling out from her lips. Insulting and vicious: was her specialty "and I like some life to my guys." She said coolly, "Go back to your grave Old Man; I'm only interested in helping the people behind me."

Scowling darkly he adjusted his grip on the metal and made a vulgar gesture involving his crotch and his hand. "If you are so keen to help, why don't you help **me** with something? It'll only take a few minutes of your time…" his disgusting tongue swiped over his lips and he grinned maliciously. "We'll both have fun."

Smirking she replied "a few minutes huh, well that might explain a lot from your part now."

Promptly she turned away and locked gazes with the other man. "So move and allow us to leave."

Apparently still thinking he was in charge and the 'biggest thing on earth' he puffed out and curled his upper lip into a snarl that wasn't nice to look at. Some people can pull off the look some people can't, coincidently Aya was one of the fortunate people that could manage it and still not look permanently and horribly disfigured. So of course she snarled right back.

"It's our money!"

She raised an eyebrow "yours? I thought it was _their_ money. After all, we wouldn't be having this conversation if it was yours because only an idiot would lose enough money to fight someone over..."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY YOU DAMN BITCH?" He screeched.

She didn't have a chance to reply because he came rushing at her with a pulled back fist and his arm clumsily raised in a mockery of a punch. Aya rolled her eyes. '_Tch,_' she thought, '_Amateurs.'_ It really was too easy. Calmly sidestepping his aim slightly, she grabbed his fist, and twisted it away, her whole body twirling as she ducked fast under his arm, braced her shoulder under his and paused. His face was holding utmost shock. She moved her grip minutely on his bent wrist and hand and he visibly winced.

"I'm not a bitch." With that she slid on a blood thirsty grin and jerked, bending down slightly. His body whipped into the air and flew a few yards before he slammed directly onto his back.

"Nggh!"

Silence.

The smile on her face stayed in place and she straightened. He wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon. She popped her neck. Yeah… it felt really good to fight again; though that wasn't really much of a challenge.

Now to deal with said pedophile.

She tossed her ebony hair carelessly over one shoulder and stretched so her spine cracked. Yes, even if it was mostly an empty adrenaline rush she felt a sort of freedom and light-weightiness that came with initiating even one simple act. It was absolutely exhilarating and thrilling to say the least. Something she was almost reluctant to cut short. She could always draw it out a little… do less effective moves… toy with him… it's not like he didn't deserve it, the perverted old man.

'_But it would risk the teenagers' safety.'_ She thought pensively. Her gaze flicked back to where the girl hovered behind her and she breathed out a sigh. _'Guess I'll have to make it quick'_

"That wasn't very nice Cupcake." The guy stated, looking over at his partner sprawled across the concrete with blood leaking from his hair. His lips turned down into a frown.

Aya clenched her fists and thought over her actions. She wanted this to end soon but she wanted to get him to attack first so if anyone asked it was definitely self-defense on her part. Therefore baiting him was her best bet. "I guess I'm not then." She retorted, voice completely smooth and composed. "Next time control your fellow dog."

"SAY WHAT?" he exclaimed.

"Control. Your. Brethren."

He swung the crowbar towards her head with enough force to knock a full grown man off his feet. Aya caught the metal. His eyes widened. "You-you, h-how?" He stammered out. Tightening her fingers on the bar Aya cocked her head to the side and shifted her feet.

"How what?" she asked politely. "How I did _this_?" She spun and delivered a powerful round house kick to his jaw before bringing the bar around and smashing it into his skull. "Down and out for the count." She huffed under her breath. As if there wasn't random bodies sprawled across the ground at her feet she yawned and scratched the back of her neck. '_Wonder what I should make for dinner tonight…'_

"Domo arigato." A feminine voice suddenly said.

Oh right, the teenagers…

Turning to face them Aya directed her attentions to the girl, who happened to be sporting four blonde pigtails sprouting out of her head. That was peculiar- though she'd seen some people around here with much weirder hairstyles- and her attire was even weirder. She was wearing a white kimono style dress with black netting over her expose legs and arms with a red sash like object wound around her back into a bow and some sort of black sandals. The other two weren't any more normal looking. A boy with purple face makeup similar to that she'd seen in musicals like 'The wizard of Oz' was covered from head to foot in a black outfit, the headdress of it pointed slightly almost in a mimicry of a cats ears and had the same foot wear as the girl. Besides them was teen who towered over them with the richest crimson hair she'd ever seen on a person's head. He was dressed in black like the other boy but instead of a full body suit his outfit consisted of loose pants and a shirt, identical shoes to the others and a splash of white in the form of a long sash stretched down a shoulder and over his waist in a lax loop before hanging formlessly towards the ground at his front.

Even for foreigners they were eccentric.

Then the girls words suddenly came back to her 'Domo arigato'… patiently she ran through the common phrases in other languages she knew and let a smile eclipse her features. It was Japanese. She'd finally get to practice her second language and see if it was up to par with native speakers. Mentally she switched her brain from working on English to Japanese.

"Konbenwa!" she greeted amiably.

Like she hadn't expected to be answered the blonde whipped her head in Aya's direction and raised an eyebrow. "You speak Japanese?" she asked in her tongue.

"Hai." Aya nodded. "It's my second language. I'm surprised to find someone who speaks it around here."

"Thank Kami!" the girl exclaimed. "We've been wandering around for hours because everyone else speaks some weird other language. Kankuro got us lost and we ended up here with those men."

"Me?" the boy with face paint snapped. "Sorry but I remember us already being lost because _someone_ had to go 'investigate' that dress shop!" Aya watched in amusement as the girl shoved her face in the boys and snarled.

"Well it was you in the first place with the brilliant idea of exploring! I said we should stay in that park until we could figure out how we got here but noooo little Kankuro has to whine like a damn baby because it's too hot outside to stand around without shade!" she poked him in the chest. "We live in the desert Baka! This isn't even as hot as springtime back home!"

Aya smirked. They were definitely siblings, even in other countries sibling confrontations were always the same, and if she had to take a guess she'd say the girl was the older one.

"Shut up, Temari!" the guy shouted angrily, "You're just pissed because that blonde dude back in the shop laughed at you!"

The girl twitched "Kankuro!" Impressively fast she brought down her fist and slammed it down on the top of his head.

"Oy! Oy! What the hell was that for?" he demanded clutching at his head.

Smirking, the girl turned away and crossed her arms. "Respect your Onni-san, baka."

Covering her laughter with a cough Aya stepped forward before they could start another fight. "Ne ne," she said trying to placate the situation. "Sorry to interrupt your fun time but maybe I should know your names; after all I did just help you out with the thugs." Her words drew their attention and the boy leered at her.

"We could've handled it ourselves—Itai!" he was cut off with another bonk on the head delivered by the girl.

"Shut up baka," the girl stated coolly, "It's polite to introduce yourselves to other people." She faced Aya and smiled, sticking out a hand. "I'm-" Aya noticed her eyes flick towards the red head boy before she finished "Temari." Something inside Aya set off a little alert and she narrowed her eyes slightly. It was Japanese etiquette to introduce yourself with a family name and then your name; why was she so hesitant? It wasn't as if I would know the name if they were from Japan. She wasn't going to hold them for ransom or something if they were wealthy.

Thinking she'd let it slip but return the favor Aya smiled brightly back. "Just call me Aya." Yes, it wasn't even her proper name but her friends called her by it and since she was obviously not trusted she wouldn't trust them either.

Apparently not picking up on the girls' ploy Temari shook her hand enthusiastically before shooting a look at the boy in paint. He gazed blankly at her. "Ahem." She prompted. The boy still looked puzzled. "INTRODUCE YOURSELF, BAKA!"

Waving her off the boy closed his eyes and didn't bother to extend a hand. "I'm this violent girls brother, Kankuro."

"Nice to meet you."

Temari scowled at him for a moment then pointed at the red head who was leaning against the wall. "And that's—"

"Gaara" A cold, rough voice interrupted.

Aya's eyes quickly focused over to where the voice came from: the red haired guy. His own eyes were on her too, boring into her like hollow drills, attempting to see through her every thought. A shiver crept up her spine. She'd have to watch out for that one when she was in their presence.

Forcing the smile to stay in place Aya nodded. "It's nice to meet you too."

To her right Kankuro sputtered out a laugh only to have an icy glare sent his way by Aya herself. He froze slightly in shock before her smile returned and she carried on as if she'd never glared in the first place. "So… Kankuro-san," she said girlishly, creeping closer to him. He raised an eyebrow as she sashayed closer but didn't bother to hide a smirk curling at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah Aya- chan?"

Stopping just before him she looked up and grinned innocently. "Don't call me Aya-chan." Without any warning she aimed a sweeping kick at his legs and at the same time threw a punch. _'If my assumption is right he should be able to dodge.' _Cursing_, _he somehow dodged the kick, grabbed her arms and flung her away from him. _'Just as I believed.'_ She thought smugly. Using her momentum she gracefully twisted and managed a back handspring to land softly a few yards away.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Kankuro demanded.

Straightening Aya dusted off her shirt casually and pinned them all with a deceptively calm stare. "You know how to fight." She stated.

Temari grunted and crossed her arms. "Hai."

Her flippant response made Aya twitch but she chose to ignore the rudeness. "Then why didn't you defend yourselves when you were confronted? It was two against three," she pointed out, "And those guys were amateurs."

Glaring, Temari blew out a breath through her nose, clearly not happy with her observations. "Well we didn't know what that one metal thing was." She snapped, unweaving her arms and placing one on her hip and letting the other hang down in a classic 'bite me' attitude.

Aya frowned. Apparently Temari didn't exactly like not knowing and was pissed she had to admit it. But what did she mean by not knowing what the metal thing was? A crowbar was commonly seen practically anywhere and the gun… well a gun was seen around these parts pretty frequently too; but they were foreigners. Could it be that perhaps they'd never seen one? That didn't make sense though. Even in other countries they would've had to have been exposed to guns at some point or at least the basic look and concept. The same sense of familiarity pulsed through her again. She had seen these people somewhere she just knew it. It felt as if the answer to her curiosity was right beyond her reach, but she knew it was there. That's what made it so frustrating.

Eyeing the girl and her posture Aya decided to risk a question. "You mean a crowbar?" She ventured.

Fury sparked in the blondes eyes and she curled her lip. "Do I look like a complete baka?" she growled, pausing to hit Kankuro when he muttered a 'yes' before leaning closer to Aya. "Of course I know what a crow bar is! I'm talking about the weird small thing with the hollow tip that that teme was pointing at my forehead!" she pointed forcefully at said part of her face.

So she really had meant the gun… Great. If she didn't even know the basic mechanics of the device it would take forever for her to understand. Aya scratched her head and mentally went through her options. She could always just tell her the dangers of a gun and to stay away from them… She smiled. Yes that would work.

"Look," Aya began. "that device you're talking about is called a gun and is extremely dangerous. I'm not going to take the time to explain the entire workings of it and what not but what you need to know is two things." She held up the corresponding fingers and wiggled them. "Firstly," she put down one finger. "you never should stand in front of where it's pointing unless you want a few metal capsules lodged somewhere on your person- and don't think you can dodge it because even though it's possible the speed it's hurled at makes it near impossible." She put up the second finger. "And second: Carrying one of these weapons is illegal here if you don't have a proper license and if you're seen with one and don't have the license you'll be fined and sent to jail."

She was met with confused faces all around, though the Gaara guy only showed it in his eyes slightly. She rolled her eyes. It was to be expected she supposed. Aya still didn't know how in the world they had lived their lives not knowing that- After all, everywhere now days had been involved in war at least once, in some way-but it wasn't really her problem.

Looking up into the darkening sky she adjusted her bag and turned back to Temari.

"Hey, nice meeting you and all but I have to get home…"

The girl perked up. "Oh yeah, I guess it is getting pretty late."

Aya nodded in agreement and took a pen out of a side pocket of her pack. "Here give me your hand." Temari placed her hand in Aya's and the black haired girl turned it over so the palm faced upwards. "This is my number," she used her teeth to take the cap of the pen and proceeded to scribble numbers on Temari's hand. "Call me if you need anything. I usually don't do things like this but you guys look like you could get into all sorts of trouble around here and from what I've seen you're pretty descent. Find a pay phone and enter the number. If you don't have money just tells them I'll take a collect call."

"Domo arigato Aya-san." Temari said bowing her head slightly.

"No problem." She turned away and started to walking towards the alley entrance. "Good luck you guys." Aya called looking over one shoulder to see Kankuro and Temari waving after her. "Hope you find your way home!" Their faces suddenly dropped their smiles and their eyes widened.

"Aya—"

"OMPH!" Aya stumbled back from what she'd run into and dizzily put a hand to her forehead. She must be dehydrated or something because she was hearing a weird hissing sound, and she didn't think that was normal. Looking up she suppressed a gasp to find a glowering Gaara standing before her, arms crossed and mouth set in a thin line. He was giving off an aura of evil large enough to turn the air black around him.

"Gomen, Gaara-san." Aya said, "I wasn't watching-" she stopped talking as she felt something rough and moving slither up her arms. She looked down and gaped to find sand firmly wrapped around her limbs.

'_Not…'_ She swallowed hard. _'N-not possible.'_

Above her, Gaara peered at her with mirrors of menace reflecting from his cold eyes; the demon inside him almost visible to Aya as she sat looking at him in disbelief. This wasn't possible. This wasn't relevant. She was being held down by **moving** sand for godssakes! Not only that, but They. Were. Supposed. To. Be. In. A. Manga.

"You're staying." The teenager stated as Aya finally realized his identity.

Host to the Shakaku and murderer of hundreds; and unfortunately for her it seemed that somehow he wasn't reformed yet.

Sabaku no Gaara.

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><p>AN: Hope you enjoyed! and hope you keep reading

Sayonara!


	2. Mistake

A/N: Next chapter compliments to my beta BriarBainRose for editing

A/N: Shout outs to

hieissoulmate5by5

grounded_angel2

I still don't own Naruto!

Enjoy

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><p>"Let me down damnit!" Aya growled "KANKURO!"<p>

Almost apologetically, the puppeteer ninja looked over his shoulder at where she'd propped her upper body up by using her arms against his back; one eye closed and one open. "Sorry Aya-san, but Gaara doesn't trust you after you tried to punch him in the alley, and then made a run for it at that glass building with those weird bushes."

She sighed, in retrospect those actions had been pretty stupid; the first one being beyond stupidity and entering the territory of the mentally unstable. It had been a double whammy of failure anyways. For one she hadn't hit him and two she now had sand burns up and down her arms so deep they were still bleeding and a bruised face from where he'd personally delivered retribution after her swing had been deflected. The second action… well that had just been pure anger driving her. She'd seen a chance to escape the person who had hurt her and she'd taken it no questions asked. Somehow she'd forgotten the whole 'I-can-transport-myself-short-distances-in-the-blink-of-an-eye' ability he had and ended up being dragged across hot sidewalk and blacktop for nearly seven minutes with her shirt and jacket riding up.

"Where are we going?"

"To your house- you already gave us directions remember?"

Aya scowled. "Sorry, my memory's not what it used to be, what with being punched, dragged and cut up. When did I tell you where my house was again? Because if I did it was purely a psychotic break on my part that I should have myself severely medicated for."

Kankuro grunted but seemed to be making sure not to make eye contact with her. "It was when we were still in the alley. Gaara asked you-" _Demanded and or threatened_, Aya filled in, "-to tell us where you lived so we could have somewhere to stay."

Finding it useless to argue the classifications of their actions against her she changed the subject back to what it was in the first place.

"Why can't Temari-san carry me?" Aya asked tiredly.

"Because Gaara doesn't trust her, he thinks she might let you go freely."

"Oh and he trusts you?"

"Hai" Kankuro nodded then stopped abruptly. "Ne ne, what are you saying here?"

Aya snorted. "Kankuro you're sort of distracted easily."

"How so?"

"Every skirt with legs under it that has walked by makes you stop and drool for at least a minute. In that time I could easily escape down the street."

"I do n-" A group of preppy girls strutted past in frilly skirts and heals and low and behold, Kankuro stopped walking and panted after them like a blood hound on a trail. Aya huffed in annoyance and, to prove a point, easily extracted herself from his hold and landed besides him on the sidewalk.

"Kan-kur-o!" She said, trying to get his attention. He was too busy focusing on a particular blonde with a skirt riding too far up with each step and any second now Aya was guessing she could be fined for indecent exposure if the hiking up continued. Can we say, Dead Brained Hormone Driven Pervert? Trying again Aya waved a hand in front of his face. "Umm hello? Person that's supposed to be preventing me from escaping**, **are you even listening? Oh come on, earth to my captor, come in, Kankuro!" she sighed and leaned against said idiots shoulder.

"He's a goner."

Then something struck her.

She was practically alone with Gaara nowhere in sight-most likely still stuck in the fast-food place with Temari.

This was a perfect time to escape!

Smiling brightly she stepped away from the teenager, glanced in all directions to make sure it was all clear and in a blink was gone around the corner and back into the labyrinth of alleys she was familiar with. 'That was too easy.' Aya thought with a chuckle. She ran a complicated weave through the maze and then made a hasty exit out onto a street far away from where Kankuro was skirt gawking and slowed to a casual stroll with her hands in her pockets to blend flawlessly in with the crowd.

"And they're supposedly ninja?" she muttered under her breath. She snorted. "Ha! Maybe they lost their touch when they came into the real world." Abruptly she frowned. She still couldn't really believe they were actually here. She'd run through hundreds of scenarios in her mind from the time she'd been detained to now and it still made absolutely no sense. They could be cosplayers… but what about the fact that the so-called 'Gaara' had actual moving sand? That was just something she would never get over: the feeling of sand crawling over her body. A shiver shook her form and she sighed. It would be no surprise at all if she had nightmares over it.

She was suddenly shoved out of her thoughts by a hard body and she stumbled.

"What the Hell-" The words froze on her tongue as she looked up to see who it was she'd collided with.

"Girl" a rough voice mumbled. Teal pools of anger focused on her and Aya suddenly felt cold even though she had on pants and a short sleeved jacket. She cringed downward some, shoulders curling in as she tried to scoot away and be swallowed up into the crowd again.

Before she could, a pale hand shot out and she was tugged back to his side in a rough motion that drew the curious stares of people hustling past. She saw him take note of this and scowl deeper before pulling her closer and leaning down slightly. "Walk." He growled. She didn't want to, in fact she was toying with the idea of kicking him in the what-nots and running, but the killer intent she caught flashing in his eyes was an effective determent and she obediently proceeded. His hand released her abruptly when she complied. Aya grinned secretively at the opening it provided her. 'If I can just…'

As if reading her mind sand materialized around her wrist in a tight bracelet and the red head shot her a warning glance from the corner of his eye. Now she wouldn't be able to escape at all. The girl snarled slightly then pushed the emotions away. Once they got to her house she'd go straight for her weapons stash and get them the hell out of her life.

"Oy, Gaara! Aya-chan's gone!" Kankuro hollered, his black cat-hat sticking out even in the large crowd as he rushed towards them. Aya bit her tongue not to lash out at the 'chan'. "She must've snuck away when-" he stopped when he spotted the glaring girl at his brothers' side. "Guess you found her then, ne?"

The sand tightened around Aya's wrist and she winced as old cuts reopened and blood seeped into the band. Damn that was going to hurt later.

"You're an embarrassment Kankuro," Gaara stated. "A ninja who loses his prisoner is a ninja who deserves to choke on his own blood just before death takes him." Suddenly uncomfortable with standing so near the blood thirsty psycho Aya tried to inch away from him but found the sand only allowed her to stray half a foot from his form. She mentally cursed.

At the same time Kankuro was flinching at his younger brother's words. It hurt to be considered weak by ones younger brother. On top of that Kankuro was pretty sure that Gaara was giving him a hidden warning that if he screwed up again he'd personally kill him.

"H-hai Gaara," he said sheepishly, unsure whether he should be running or not. "Gomenasia. Temari's right behi-"

Said girl bopped him on the head. "Otouto-baka." She blew a bit of blonde hair from her eyes then looked to Gaara. "I got what you asked Gaara." She hefted up a bag pointedly. "Took a while to find someone that spoke Japanese but I got it done. Oh," she flicked her gaze to Aya, "And thanks for lending us the money. You were right, stupid shop keeper wouldn't take my yen."

"Like I had a choice," Aya grumbled under her breath then lifted her head and smiled brightly. "No problem Temari-san, just helping friends in need." She slightly choked on the word 'friends' but recovered with an even brighter smile.

"Hn," Gaara crossed his arms and closed his eyes, "Let's go."

Immediately both siblings nodded and waited for Gaara to catch up before walking towards Aya's neighborhood; leaving her to trail after so she wouldn't get her wrist severed.

Craziest. Day. Ever.

* * *

><p>"This is your house?" Kankuro asked poking his head around the corners from the entry way. Apparently it wasn't any bigger than what he'd surmised from looking at the white outside appearance. It was a small sized house with two stories in height. There was only a living room and kitchen downstairs from what he could see. "It's tiny!"<p>

Next to him Temari snarled and kicked him hard so he face planted on the carpet. "Be polite Kuso!"

Aya peeked out from behind Gaara where she'd somehow gotten squished even though she'd been the one to one the door. Her purple gaze swept the house and she shrugged. It looked fine to her. She smoothly slid around Gaara and in front of Temari and Kankuro; happy to note the sand still circling her wrist like a live snake didn't violently react. "The Kitchen, living room and two guest bedrooms are down here, along with the laundry room." She gestured to the ceiling. "My room's up there and so is my…" she bit her lip harshly and glanced away before continuing "mothers'. The bathroom is also upstairs so if you need it be quiet about it. You're free to go anywhere accept my- m-mothers room. I'd say my rooms off limits to but I can see you'd still barge in anyways. Only one rule is crucial because I doubt you'll follow any of the others so I won't bother repeating them. The one rule is: Don't. Ever. Disturb. Mother." She met each of their eyes, her own hardening to flint as she spoke. "This includes entering her room, loud noises outside of it and letting her see you." She suddenly smiled. "Make yourselves at home."

Not waiting for anything else Kankuro jumped up and walked over to flop on the couch. "No problem there."

"Hn." Gaara walked away towards the kitchen not bothering to release the sand twitching at Aya's arm.

Temari was left behind and scrutinized Aya sharply, eyes narrowing slightly then flicking towards the ceiling. "Aya, do you want to talk about something?" she asked.

"No, why?"

The older girl frowned and crossed her arms, bag still in hand. "Aya. The smile you're wearing is fake. I know you're not happy with us being here but-"

Aya waved her off. "What's done is done. No use brooding over something that I'm not going to get out of without meeting death." She smiled even more and tilted her head to the side. "Is there anything else you need, Temari-san?" The blonde looked like she wanted to pursue the matter but side in defeat.

"Hai. Actually I wanted to ask you how you're going to get passed your mom with this. Gaara wouldn't like someone else knowing that we're here-"

"Don't worry, she doesn't leave her room much and she has a bathroom in there." Aya looked at the clock hanging in the kitchen and frowned. "I should actually be bringing some stuff up to her…" she bowed to Temari, "Please excuse me." With that she turned and headed into the kitchen, leaving a pensive Temari in her wake.

Immediately Aya went over to the highest cabinet and hoisted herself up onto the counter so she could comfortably go through the mass of bottles up there. "No… These… Not them… no… headaches? Maybe…" she sifted through them and placed several on the counter, making sure they would be okay taken at the same time. "These with a sandwich and some water should be fine." She twisted around to hop down and caught sight of a stoic Gaara half hidden in shadows she didn't realize were there across the room. Her feet slid softly to the ground. Should she greet him? Her eyes went to the sand at her wrist and she decided against it. He'd most likely sand her if she did anything other than ignore him.

Stealing herself against the fear and anger she held towards him she calmly walked over to the fridge and swung the right door open. Light flooded out and she leaned forward to inspect the insides. Food and drinks were stuffed into the shelves everywhere, mostly fruit and healthy choices. A specific drawer positioned dead center had a label 'mother' slapped across it. Aya reached forward and pulled it out. Pre-made sandwiches, salads and other meals were neatly piled there. Selecting a plastic wrapped triangle cut sandwich that had a pink sticker for turkey on it she shoved the drawer and door closed. She tossed the package on the counter, grabbed a glass and filled it with tap water and finally placed all of what she'd carefully gathered on a flat tray with handles. She glanced around to make sure she hadn't missed anything then headed up the stairs.

* * *

><p>"Oh, what the Hell am I doing?" Aya muttered under her breath as she walked. "I'm letting a bunch of ninja stay at my house after they threaten my life. Should've just let them do their worst and refused."<p>

She paused in front of the foreboding double doors and swallowed the lump in her throat. How many times had she entered this room to find all manner of insanity? Aya shook her head and balanced the tray in one hand so she could fish under her shirt for the key. Fingers curling overt the old metal she bent slightly and inserted it with a practiced twist. The door creaked open.

"Okaasan!" she called through the door softly as she entered, closing it gently behind her. Abruptly she inwardly smacked herself. Her mother didn't speak Japanese! Purposefully Aya switched the language in her brain and took a step forward into the shadowed room. "Mother… Mother where are you? I brought up your medication and meal…" Her eyes found the empty bed and her brow furrowed. She placed the tray onto the bedside table and looked around. The picture frame on the desk was shattered and all the lights had been smashed again. She sighed. Perhaps she would just stop trying to replace them. "Mother…"

A high pitched whimper captured her attention and with a sigh she dropped to the floor to peer under the bed.

A woman lay curled there with faded purple eyes and crazy grey streaked hair. Aya felt like cursing a star in the sky but kept her calm façade in place as she reached for the lady she referred to as mother.

"It's okay to come out. Come on, nothings here." She cooed soothingly.

The female's attention snapped to her and her form rocked slightly. "It's here, it's here." She muttered. "The darkness is here. Here to take me."

"It's not going to take you." Aya reassured her. "It's dark because you smashed all the lights again…"

"Don't let it take me. Please don't let it take me."

Guilt swept over as she scooted further underneath the furniture in attempt to grab her. She sounded so afraid , _so helpless_. Aya shook her head out of that train of thought. Ever since that night at the prison her mother hadn't been the same. She had been a doctor at the local prison but a year ago there was a security break and a power failure. Something had happened that the prison personnel had said was 'classified' and now… the nightmares just didn't go away.

She attentively put her hand over her mother's curled one and tugged slightly. "C'mon now. Don't be afraid I brought you turkey. You like turkey right?" seeming to be placated by that the woman nodded slightly and shifted towards her. "Good… come closer…" Aya guided her out from under the bed before bending down and swiftly sweeping the frail woman up into her arms and laying her on the bed. "The trays on the side table, okay?" she brushed hair from her haggard face and tugged the blankets up to her chin. "Just eat when you feel like." Turning away she twisted the caps off the pill bottles she brought with her and put the pills on the tray, gathering the bottles up since it seemed like she'd have to get the tray later. "I have to go now but-"

A hand shot out and latched onto her wrist lacking the sand. Aya hissed at the pain but looked at her mother.

"You smell different." She whispered, eyes dilating slightly.

"No, mother." The girl replied steadily. She carefully detached her mother's hold from her arm and placed it on the bed beside her. "I smell just like always. I just got home from working in the Dojo- remember?" when the adult nodded she continued. "Now, I'll be in my work out room; call if you need anything." She backed away slowly before hurriedly exiting and locking the door.

In the light of the hallway she breathed a sigh of relief. It always weirded her out when her parent was in this sort of mood. It made her seem… like someone else.

"So this is your mother's room right?"

"Huh?" Aya spun around to find an amused Kankuro leaning against the wall, one eye closed the other peering sideways at her.

"Your mother," he repeated. "This is her room, correct?"

Realizing that for some reason she didn't have to switch manually to understand the Japanese she switched over so she could reply. "Hai, and I thought I said no making noises around here?"

"I'm not!"

"Talking is considered noise, Puppet-boy." Aya retorted venomously.

"I'm not even being loud! I-" he suddenly opened both eyes. "Wait." He demanded, straightening. "You just called me puppet boy!"

Aya rolled her eyes. "Would you rather I call you Dolly-boy?"

Growling Kankuro surged forward and picked her up by the collar of her shirt; suddenly the deadly shinobi from the manga she recognized. "How do you know what kind of weapons I use?" he snapped, all guises of friendliness gone. Aya froze, mouth opening and closing as she tried to think of what to do in a situation like this. If she told them about the show they could alter reality but if she didn't… When she didn't answer Kankuro snarled and slammed her against the wall and pinned her so her feet dangled helplessly, hand shifting to her neck. "TELL ME."

Black spots danced in and out of her vision. She needed to get air fast or she'd pass out. Aya grunted and with a trembling hand grabbed hold of Kankuro's thumb; twisted.

"Itai!" He released his hold and Aya dropped to the floor gasping. But she couldn't stop to catch her breath because the Ninja aimed a kick at her and she had to dodge. With a lurch she scrambled to her feet and made a hasty escape for the stair case as Kankuro came after her throwing punches she barely missed.

"Get back here, damnit!" His sandaled foot connected with her leg and she shrieked, flipping head first down the staircase. With a limber movement she twisted and curled so she Aikido rolled out of the landing to scamper towards the living room. Each step she made sent a pang ringing through the side that had met with the floor but she ignored it.

'_Damn me and my big mouth'_ she thought angrily.

The two sped passed an eating Temari and she shot up. "KANKURO WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" she hollered fiercely. Before he could respond she grabbed him and yanked him away from the panicked girl who kept running to the back door. She didn't know why she was heading there; because kami knew she wouldn't be able to out run them and Gaara's sand but instinct was overriding common sense.

Abruptly said afore mentioned grainy substance constricted around her wrist and she yelp, being wrenched into the air and against a wall where sand swiftly trapped her. Gaara. Inside she screamed out in fury but externally her heart was racing with the fear of prey.

"What… is going on." Gaara's voice grated.

Silence.

Moments passed and the sand began to stir in agitation around him. Kankuro finally stepped forward.

"G-gaara, she knew a-about my puppets." He said shakily.

Cold jade eyes locked on Aya and she shuddered, making sure to avoid his eyes as best as she could. The whole ridiculous: if-I-can't-see-him-he-can't-see-me ploy came into play and Aya decisively closed her eyes tight. She wasn't usually like this; no, she was usually the one making others use this kind of tactic. But of course there was the fact that this was Sabaku no Gaara she was dealing with and his feminist/machoist big sister and delusional puppeteer extraordinaire older brother.

'_Oh I'm so incredibly dead.'_

"Look at me."

Look at him? Aya was closer to slitting her own throat to save them the trouble of it later than looking at the Demon container. There was absolutely no way in Hell, that she was going to look anywhere near him. There was a reason she'd closed her eyes. It was that she didn't want to see anything. Anything included him- no, anything _highlighted_ Him- so in conclusion she'd refuse to look at him to. Because she was. Not. Opening. Her. Eyes.

Sand hissed angrily as the Shukaku Jinchuuriki turned the full force of his attentions onto the girls form still held helpless to his sand. His siblings cringed back slightly at his sudden anger, knowing that his rage was nothing to be trifled with for it had brought lives to an end within seconds of its manifestation. They could only hope their brother would not kill the girl; she seemed to be the only one willing to help them. Not that that would make any difference, because if Gaara decided to kill her it wouldn't matter if she was the one keeping the entire world from dying, he'd still kill her.

The sand around her tightened aggressively, grinding bone against bone and cutting into soft flesh effectively ringing a startled cry from the captives lips stained with pain. In answer, a pleased glint flashed within her captors lifeless eyes.

"Look. At. Me." He growled again.

At his words his element constricted further and Aya bit her lip hard to quell the scream trying to bubble out of her throat. She wasn't going to let him bully her into anything. She had always despised bullies, what with using their larger mass and power to force people into submission and that was exactly what the Sand Shinobi was doing at the moment; so she wasn't going to concede. Of course then there was the fact that she couldn't stop him from torturing her into something…

As if agreeing with her thoughts, the sand convulsed in such brutal force against her Aya's body reacted so that her eyes popped open and blood was launched from her mouth to the tile beneath her accompanied by an ear splitting scream. Across the room the older Ninja siblings flinched at the sound but their younger brother merely took a step closer to peer directly into her eyes with a deadly gaze. He grunted when he saw only pain and determination hidden in her purple orbs. Determination for what, he didn't know; but he planned to find out.

"Is what Kankuro said true?" Gaara asked. He already knew the answer of course. Kankuro wasn't stupid enough to blatantly lie over something as important as this no matter how perverted and immature he was.

Swallowing the bitter taste of her own blood Aya made a choice as the fact that she was helpless against these people sank in. 'Helpless…' she mused. 'I've never been helpless before.' She did not like the feeling, nodding as best as she could she sighed. "H-ha-i." she croaked.

Unaffected Gaara blinked. "How?"

"I-" Aya bit her lip in hesitation. Could she tell them? Sure they weren't evil in the manga per say and Gaara probably couldn't care less but Shukaku… Aya eyed the Host warily… he was a wild card. She thought up all the lies she could tell them then swiftly discarded them. Shinobi weren't stupid. "E-everyone knows here."

"Nani?" Temari demanded from behind.

Gaara shot her a glance that silenced her before looking back at Aya. "Explain."

* * *

><p>AN: Hope you are still interested in the story! The next ones on the way


	3. Denying Truth

A/N: Whoo! Another chapter; today is a really busy day

Another thanks to my spectacular beta BriarBaneRose

And thank you all for being wonderful people who comment!

**Kouralia: Thx for the appreciation ^^ (if I ever get them extremely out of character I would luv if you could tell me!) and about the language thing- as a person learning four languages at the moment I do realize that you don't have to 'switch' between languages, I was taking a jab in the dark by combining something with the 'Memory Palace' theory and apparently it turned out rather stupid and ridiculous -_-;... my bad. I'm going to bounce things off my beta and see if I should get rid of it... but you'll have to deal with it for a few more chapters since I already typed those up-sorry. The random Japanese words thrown into the translation is because I have seen many works done like this including published books that deal with people in other countries. Sorry if it irks you but I think I'm going to keep it (cuz it also helps me with using Japanese and keeping up with that study). Thank you for your comment- I really do enjoy positive criticism and everyone loves praise. Hopefully You'll keep reading. And if you start getting bored feel free to tell me because you seem like the person that would and I try to keep my works interesting. Ja ne**

** Shadowheart123**

** slipknotgirl14**

** SilverNeira**

**Props to you for reviewing and I'm glad your enjoying my story Because I know I am!**

NO OWN NARUTO

Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"So… you're saying that this- this is another universe or world or dimension or whatever an-and everyone knows our entire life story here?" Temari demanded shakily, eyes darting from Aya then down to the book cradled within her palms. It was almost unbelievable, and if Temari hadn't seen and witnessed all of the difference in this place herself she would've called Aya a liar straight out and demanded that she tell them the truth; but she had seen. And that fact didn't do anything to soothe the nerves singeing with anxiety and adrenaline as the blonde haired shinobi smoothed her hand over the exotic cover depicting her siblings and they're team leader. This was virtually impossible. She wondered briefly if she had been injured in combat and was suffering temporary insanity while trapped in a coma but swiftly discarded the notion. This was real. Even her mind couldn't conquer up the mind boggling things that adorned this place so normally, and she was viewed as one of the Sands greatest minds.<p>

Aya kept her head down as she stared dully at her hands before nodding her head stiffly. "H-hai." She mumbled. What else was she going to say? Here she was, captive in her own house with sand encircling her wrist and neck so harshly blood was leaking down her flesh and onto the carpet she'd worked so hard to keep clean. Nowhere to run or hide; not with those cool twin pools of apathy and death just waiting for her to even _twitch_ wrong so he could crush her in a blink. Aya was a sitting duck and she knew it. Hated it.

Kankuro slammed his fist down onto the coffee table. "Temari don't tell me you're actually going to believe this twit!" he snarled. "Our whole lives up to this point, every single little detail? Another universe? It's ridiculous!"

Temari wacked him upside the head with the book and scowled. "Well it doesn't seem so ridiculous to me!" She leaned back against the couch pillows and flicked through the manga again. "It explains the glass towers and strange language and peculiar machines. In fact, in a weird way, it makes perfect sense."

Realizing that his sister wasn't going to be agreeing with him any time soon Kankuro turned his words to Gaara; after all, the red head was going to be deciding what was what in the end because if someone disagreed he'd kill them. His eyes found the younger sibling leaning back against the wall behind Aya watching with light eyes gleaming with dark intention. "Gaara! You don't believe the bitch do you?"

Across from him said girl twitched dangerously, eyes flashing with new bloodlust. To tell the truth she didn't even try to stop herself as she usually would've in any normal situation. This of course wasn't 'normal' so perhaps she could write off her reaction as a fluke of temporary idiocy; either way she didn't stop herself as she launched forward in a fit of seething rage and fury so fast most couldn't see it. Of course she was dealing with ninja.

Her fist connected with Kankuro's jaw but before she could even deliver the full impact of the blow sand wrapped around her and she was flung back into the couch where Gaara was looming with his mask of indifference ironed over his features.

Kankuro sat up stiffly. "Damn it Gaara!" he hissed rubbing the red mark where she'd struck. "You could've stopped her _before_ she hit me!"

Passively the red head looked over at the older sand sibling but his eyes flashed a cold warning of 'what of it?' in answer to the loud exclamation. The boy with face paint laughed nervously and backed down leaving Gaara to look down at the squirming black haired girl glaring daggers at Kankuro as if she wanted to rip him to shreds. For a few minutes he simply watched then grew bored and called the sand off; not very softly either.

Aya sat up and hissed at the new sand-burns she was sporting due to her foolishness. She was about to go off on another spout of cursing and irrational violence then paused. Something still didn't fit. Her eyes skimmed over the red head who was back to his original position with his eyes closed and back against the wall. Number one, Gaara didn't have his goddamned gourd so how was he sanding her? Number two, what was with his age?

"H-how old are you guys?" Aya hesitantly asked.

Temari looked up from flipping through the manga in surprise. "Oh I'm fifteen, Kankuro's fourteen and Gaara's…" She speculatively eyed her brother. "Well, he's supposed to be twelve."

Incredulously Aya too eyed Gaara, before quickly facing forward when he sent her a glare. "He looks a little older than that, I'd guess eighteen-nineteen range."

Frowning Temari nodded. "Yeah, we all look a little different here though I have to say that Gaara's change is the most drastic."

"Are you saying that he was like this when you…" Aya paused, how had they even gotten there in the first place? Was there a dimensional rip? A portal of some sort? Malfunctioning Time machine? She shook her head. Now she was just being plain ridiculous and she didn't have time to pick through inane ideas. Luckily when she looked to Temari she seemed to guess her question.

"We don't know how we got here. One second we were training and the next we were in a park with _grass_." She said the word with such emphasis Aya fought to keep a straight face, but she wasn't surprised seeing as they were called the Sand Siblings for nothing- they had grown up in a giant desert with nothing but sand and scant trees.

"No black outs?" Aya tried to clarify. "One second you were young in Suna and the next you were here in different bodies?"

Kankuro snorted, cradling his cheek, "Does she have to spell it out for you, you dumb bi-"

Smartly, Aya cut him off before the word could stir her fury back to life. "Don't." She ground out. "Just don't. Let me inform you that words like those are one of my pet peeves, and seeing as you will be staying here for an unidentified amount of time we should probably at least try to get along." She took a deep breath. "Now, I have no problem starting over, you were actually pretty cool to be around before you found out about the manga and I don't appreciate you venting your denial on me."

"I'm not in denial-" he was cut off with a fist in his head.

"Shut it Kankuro."

A brittle smile came to her features and she suddenly stood up, causing both people on the couch to jump and an eruption of movement to eclipse the sand. Aya ignored it all. "Do you guys want something to eat?" She asked. She needed to do something… something to distract herself, something to work off all of this negative energy beginning to congest the air around her. She'd had to keep all excess energy to a minimal since getting out of 'that' phase and that meant she had to work off steam regularly. The only problem was that she highly doubted Gaara would let her disappear into a secret room to beat the hell out of punching bags and combat dolls. At least not until she got them distracted somehow.

So for now she'd have to settle for cooking vigorously and taking her frustrations out on food.

"Sure! I-"

"Wait a second!" Kankuro interrupted. "Wait, just a second! How do we know you won't poison us?"

Did he ever stop talking? Aya wanted to rub her temples until they bled just to drown out his voice and bring some semblance of peace to her form. Of course there were two problems with that, first of all Gaara would probably be drawn into bloodlust, second she'd have to clean up more blood. Damn. And here she had thought that Kankuro was a pretty cool guy but if this was the way he acted when he felt threatened she'd rather not know him at all. Curling her lip slightly she met Kankuro's gaze. "I'm not a coward to poison someone unless it was on a weapon and even then it would be a far stretch; putting death in something that brings life is hardly my idea of a fair fight. I may not be a ninja from another world but I have my honor; no matter how twisted it is, it's still honor." She spat. "Besides, you're ninja can't you sense poison in the food?"

He harrumphed and looked away.

Taking that as submission Aya turned her attention to Temari and arched an eyebrow. "What would you like to eat?"

"Uh- well…" Temari glanced back and forth between her and Kankuro, clearly trying to figure out the entire situation before relenting and curling her fingers into the couch. "Do you know how to make anything Japanese?"

Aya paused in thought. "I've already made some Onigiri last night for my friend because she happens to be obsessed at the moment with Japanese culture due to a new show she's hooked on. You can munch on those while I cook something up if you want." She suggested. When Temari nodded vigorously she beckoned her and headed for the kitchen. "I was thinking of Udon noodles, if that's okay?"

"Hai."

"Okay, do you prefer Kitsune, Tanuki or Tsukimi?"

Temari opened her mouth but before she could speak Gaara cut her off. "Tanuki."

Tanuki? Aya fought not to laugh. How ironic was it that the Tanuki Jinchuuriki preferred an Udon with his demon type named in it? She smirked but then forced it down to look at the red headed 'twelve year old'. "Hai… ano… would you like anything else?"

He turned away. "Hn."

'_I'll take that as a 'no'.'_ Aya thought exasperatedly before ignoring him altogether and heading into the kitchen where Temari was already perched at the breakfast counter. She quickly took out the left over Onigiri and set it down next to her before pulling some sushi out too along with some chopsticks and soy sauce for the girl to try it with. "The sushi might be a few days old but I kept it in the fridge…" She explained sheepishly.

Shrugging, the blonde expertly picked up the ornate black chopsticks and set to devouring them.

Inwardly Aya twitched. What happened to table manners in her world Japan? Not a single 'arigato' or 'itadakimasu' at all! Not that she really expected it what with being practically held hostage and such but etiquette was always important in Aya's opinion and when people didn't show it… she got a little irritated. Pushing the feeling away she quickly set to work boiling and straining the noodles before adding the sauce and other ingredients of Tenkatsu and leek. It wasn't exactly the easiest meal to make seeing as American food is much faster with the already prepared ingredients and such but then again, it was one of the more simple Japanese recipes she'd tried.

Carefully serving out four bowls of the noodles and sauce Aya efficiently set the table before turning to get a pitcher of water out of the refrigerator; it was a habit acquired from her mom's incessant need to have iced water that didn't have ice in it and didn't taste like tap or chemicals when she got home from her shift. A sad smile graced the seventeen year olds lips. Old habits die hard.

"Temari-san the food is," Aya twisted, water in hand when she didn't see the girl at the counter to find she was already sitting at the table waiting to eat. "Ready?" she finished.

Like that was a magic word Kankuro immediately appeared through the door way. "Mmm! This smells delicious!" He moaned heading straight for a seat next to Temari. He slouched down into his seat and inhaled loudly above his portion. "Oh Kami it smells so good!"

Temari smirked. "I thought you weren't eating because it might be 'poisoned'?" she asked mockingly.

Her brother picked up the brown chopsticks at his place setting and scoffed. "I've survived _your _cooking for years Temari."

The kunoichi stiffened and gripped her chopsticks. "And what's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"Poison I'll ingest, as long as it doesn't come with your cooking."

"KANKURO!" Temari screeched looking ready to leap across the table, scalding soup be damned, and strangle her younger brother.

"Stop."

Gaara appeared and glided easily over to the seat nearest the wall, wordlessly sitting down. Aya frowned slightly. That had always been her spot to sit in. Deciding it wasn't worth bodily harm over seating arrangements she followed suit and took the only available place; which happened to be between Temari and Gaara.

"Itadakimasu." She murmured softly before proceeding to slurp up her noodles.

They ate in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds the nearly imperceptible clink of chopsticks and noodles being sucked up and chewed. Kankuro broke the silence.

"So Aya-san, what were you doing in the alleys anyways back there?" He asked as he fed noodles into his mouth, one eye squinting up at her. Aya paused in her chewing to look at him in amusement; apparently they were back on a somewhat friendly basis.

She wiped her mouth with a napkin and swallowed. "Well I work at a Dojo not far from there and I've used the alleys for so long it's just easier for me to navigate them without having to deal with the crowds on the sidewalks."

Temari jumped in with a chuckle. "A Dojo, eh?" she said with a competitive gleam in her eyes. "Take challenges often?"

Aya smiled faintly and shook her head. "Not anymore." She mumbled. "I usually just help out with clean up and such." '_Watching the guys have all the fun in tossing each other around…'_

"Nani?" Kankuro exclaimed. "Why aren't you competing? You weren't too bad back there against the creeps and you didn't even go through ninja training."

She shrugged and kept her gaze down so they couldn't see the bitterness welling up in her eyes and turning them into flat cold discs of purple glass again. "Ne, I quit proper lessons and signed up for a job there to earn money so I can take care of my mom," she informed them pushing around her noodles rudely. "After I joined just the club and not the class they refused to go up against me one on one or in any other type for that matter. Not that I can blame them…" Aya muttered underneath her breath as she thought back to the years that she had literally used them all as punching bags. When she felt the intensity of Gaara's gaze on her she briskly continued. "I usually have to settle for practicing new techniques with my Sensei by myself."

"That's no fair!" Temari growled.

"Life's not." Aya said simply.

"Oy!" Kankuro scrunched up his brow. "You never told us why your mom never leaves that room-"

Abruptly Aya stood up and walked over to the sink to rinse her dish. "She just doesn't." she answered stiffly, feeling her throat constricting.

Temari punched Kankuro in the arm scowling. "Look what you did, Baka!" She hissed.

"How was I supposed to know she would get all sensitive about me asking?" The puppeteer whined rubbing his throbbing arm. "It's not like she had a sign pinned to her or something. Damn, Temari you hit like a man."

"BAKA!" Temari hit him again before looking over at the black haired girl scrubbing the pot she'd used to cook with excessive force. "Sorry about that Aya-san, my brothers an insensitive Jack-ass who doesn't know how to keep his perverted mouth shut."

"I'm not a jackass!" Temari stomped on his foot. "OW!"

Acting as if he hadn't screamed Temari smiled and put her chopsticks down. "So, is working at the Dojo all you do during the day?"

"No. I have to go to high school…" Aya mumbled out. Ah, crap. She'd forgotten to do the assignment for tomorrow and it was math which meant it was going to take forever and a half with the Sand Siblings staring at her and even then she might still have to get up early to. A flag went up in her head. Yet another problem. She sighed and sagged against the counter, head dipping low and hands full of suds. "Damn." She breathed. "shit." With a hazardous movement she turned to face the three ninja crowded around her dining table. "I still need to go to school tomorrow so if you want to wait for me here…"

"Oh but—" Temari started.

"Iie." Gaara stated evenly, not even looking up as he ate.

Aya redirected her gaze to him and scowled. "Well I can't force you to stay here so I guess you could go elsewhere..." _'Please go elsewhere!'_ Aya screamed in her head. _'Please, please, please just leave and get the hell out of my life!'_

A glare was directed her way and she stiffened under its cold regard. "We are not leaving and neither are you." He rasped out.

She straightened with an almost snarl and fisted her hands. "I have to go to school!" she protested.

"Hn."

His response made her twitch. Hn? HN? What type of answer was 'hn'? It sure as hell wasn't an answer she was willing to except that was for sure. She opened her mouth to tell him off then stopped. This was Sabaku no Gaara, a murderer and she was going to yell at him? How stupid could she be?

Inhaling to calm herself, Aya looked over to the sushi still left out. "If I don't go to school the city workers will come down here and drag me to it anyways." She said as emotionless as she could.

"City workers?" Temari inquired.

Aya grunted. "Oh yeah, you guys don't know, what with being from a different dimension or whatever." She sighed and pushed a hand through her dark hair. "We have schools here that are sort of like the ninja academies but instead of ninja art and jutsu we're taught things like history and mathematics during eight hours of the day; we have to attend until the age of eighteen and after that you can decide to continue or not. There is attendance that teachers take that is wholly computerized and thus is transferred to both the schools attendance manager and the city. If a student is absent without being excused a city work is sent out to retrieve the kid."

Kankuro swallowed loudly and shrugged. "So what? They come and we can always take care of them." Aya really didn't like the way he said taking care of.

"No you can't." she protested, shaking her head. She crossed her arms and leaned against the counter with one foot resting against the cabinet. "Seeing as everything in this world is hooked to technology, if the worker goes missing he'll be tracked down by others the next day." She held up a hand when Kankuro tried to speak again. "And no, you couldn't just keep killing them. Although we don't have chakra we've managed to build weapons with technology that could annihilate this half of the world in one blow."

Temari quirked an eyebrow. "But you guys do—" Gaara cut her off.

"So killing you isn't an option." He stated blandly, having no doubt deduced that the workers would also come searching if she was dead. Aya shivered at the tone. It was always great to find out someone in the room had been contemplating homicide.

"No I guess it isn't."

"Hn."

"Someone will have to attend with you then." Temari said tapping her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder who should…"

Kankuro immediately raised his hand. "I vote not me." He said bluntly.

Aya's eyes widened as she suddenly caught up to what they were saying. There was no way she was going to deal with them trailing her at school too! "Hey you guys—"

"And why not?"

"Because I had to watch her last time!"

"—Wait! You guys—"

"Well you didn't do a very good job, did you?"

"—Temari I—"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"—I'm trying to—"

"That Gaara found her after she ran off!"

"—I don't think—"

"I was distracted!"

"—um—"

"By girls in skirts!" Temari huffed. "If an enemy kunoichi came at you with a kunai wearing only a swim suit you'd sit there and drool as she stabbed your heart!"

"No!" he denied then smirked. "Only if it was a two piece."

"Pervert!"

"Bitch!"

"Go stare at yourself in the mirror or something!"

"Go make me a bento!"

"Bastard!"

"Whore!"

Aya twitched. This was becoming annoying extremely fast. First they talk about her like she's not even there, then they talk over her and now they were cussing each other out in her kitchen for no good reason. She wanted to grab both of their heads and slam them together to bring silence back but reminded herself that they were ninja and would probably get back up with something to say.

Then, like an answered prayer, someone cut them off. "Shut up."

Both mouths immediately closed and Aya watched first hand as they cowered under two words from Gaara. Kankuros' hand jerked underneath the table while Temaris' hand went to her back, then stopped when she didn't find a giant fan and bit her lip. The two siblings shrank down some and refused to meet his gaze.

Not that it was directed at them.

Oh no, Aya was the one who had the absolute pleasure of holding that.

Eyes of a unique twist of blue and green stared straight at the teenager with the intensity of a hunter. He didn't blink, he didn't move his eyes at all; he simply sat there with his arms crossed, watching Aya from beneath deep red bangs that had strayed into his eyes. A predator in his own right just waiting to pounce. Aya grimaced slightly. The age he'd magically gained did the dangerous aura around him a lot of justice; now instead of the intimidating, blood thirsty little boy his original body was he looked absolutely malicious with a subtle wildness that set all her nerves on edge. He didn't look _hungry_ for blood, he looked completely ravenous for the crimson liquid. Like he was planning out which way would spill her blood best as she held his gaze. And through it all his expression was absolutely blank.

It unnerved Aya to no end that he could project so much malice with his entire form so tranquil looking.

"I will go with her." Gaara dictated tonelessly. "I don't trust her."

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><p>AN: Yay! School with Gaara, what could possibly go wrong?

Teehee

Wait to find out!


	4. Nightmare Sand and Dark Promises

**HI!**

**Lolz this is a short teaser! (because i know you all want to get to the good school part but i have to finish that up and send it to my beta sooooooooo. patience is a virtue- one i, myself, don't have but you should all get xD) But this also has a Gaara POV so oooooh!**

**Thx again to my wonderful Beta!**

**Dear mister anonymous: Thanks for your support- I luv it 3... buuut I was not trying to say 'singing' but 'singeing' as in to singe something (burn ect.)**

**WR: OMG I WROTE MORE! ENJOY**

**Lamiko: This is so ironic i'm cracking up writing this... ahem... one: I'm writing it right now xP... two: You said you were dreaming of this... welll this chapter is a dream chapter.. OH THE IRONY- (sorry spaz out) thx for supporting my story i hope you review again!**

**Now enjoy my muse!**

**:D**

**Oops- btw... me no own anything Naruto contained in it already- but i do own my insanity,(mostly cuz no one else will take it xD)**

**READ**

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><p>DREAM<p>

_Sand. Aya was dreaming of sand and for the life of her couldn't figure out why. She knew it was a dream because she knew for a fact she lived in New York and sand just didn't wonder in to the always running city. Snow, she could understand, but sand? That was insane._

'_Yet here I am.' Aya thought, looking wistfully out on the seemingly endless dunes tan. A slight breeze trickled over the mountainous piles of powdery substance and lifted her hair softly off her shoulders and into the air heated air around her, creating a delicious twist of hot and cold sensations playing through her body. Relaxing into the winds caress she closed her eyes and hummed her approval. Though the dream was indeed weird it wasn't all that unwelcome._

_In fact, for some odd reason she found it strangely soothing._

"_**Girl…"**_

_Aya jumped slightly as the word flowed through her on the pleasant air current playing through her tangled mass of onyx. What had that been? She cautiously looked around but found herself to be alone and furrowed her brow. She had been positive she'd heard something…_

"_**Girl…"**_

_There it was again; a voice of secrets worn rough with the touch of time. What did it want? What was it trying to say? It was all very confusing as Aya looked around unsure if she was just hearing things or there was an actual voice but then that brought up the question of why it wasn't saying more._

_Abruptly the wind increased in speed and sand whipped up into her face and eyes, blinding her to the world. She gasped and stumbled back only to fall into the sand, as the once breeze grew to a screaming squall around her, tearing at her skin with a latent fury. The pain was everywhere. Aya put her arms up to try to shield her face but the wind driven sand somehow kept slashing at pale skin. Her clothes were in tatters, hanging limply off her form offering nearly no coverage. Blood oozed from various wounds onto the ground where it was absorbed hungrily. Aya cried out in pain as the sand stung her again and again, irritating old wounds and splitting open fresh ones. She couldn't see, couldn't fight back. She was helpless. And she absolutely loathed being helpless._

_Stealing herself against the agony and pressure of air the girl stubbornly pushed herself to her feet. The air current increased drastically, shrieking and trying to drag her down again but she managed to stay standing. Grinding her teeth together and wincing at the grating feeling off dirt between her molars she bit back a scream as her stomach flexed and the deep gash there wept crimson liquid down her form and to the now red sand she stood on._

_Everything was red._

_The sand._

_The sky._

_The sun._

_Her skin._

_Her blood._

"_STOP!" She shrieked desperately. For some reason she knew this wasn't just nature fighting against her. It was someone. Some__thing__._

_As if in answer, the sand piled into dunes around her began to shiver and rumble, moving in the mimicry of a living entity. Shapes formed. The ground bulged and bucked beneath her. It was all she could do to keep from collapsing and through it all the wind kept spinning faster and faster around her. All at once tendrils of sand suddenly leapt up to detain her; grainy snakes of tan winding dangerously at her wrists and trying to force her to the ground. She screamed protest and fought against their hold. Attempting to run. Attempting to survive._

_She knew it was all a dream._

_Knew it wasn't real._

_But for Aya it was all too much, all too real as the sand constricted against her and the wind sliced in macabre dances around her._

_Why was this happening? _

_The sand at her wrists yanked harshly and she yelped, falling shakily to one knee._

_Why?_

_Tears streamed down her face, the cool trails feeling alien against her heated flesh. She didn't know why she was crying. Couldn't even fathom the reasons the salty liquid poured from her eyes at a time like this, trailing down her cheeks and down to the ground where it was eaten by sand. She had been terrified before this but this was a softer version of the emotion; muted. Part of her wasn't afraid in the least but she couldn't figure out why. Was it because she knew it was a dream? Was it because that through this all she'd not been lethally injured?_

"_**Girl…"**__ the voice was accompanied by a sudden strength which the sand acquired and forced her stomach._

_Aya growled as her head glanced off the sand and felt the anger building up in her body. No one pushed her around. She'd worked too hard to insure no one took advantage of her. Spent too much time training herself for this… this Dream to stomp her down!_

"_What the Hell do you want with me?" She snarled. Her fingers curled uselessly into the dirt and she bore her teeth at the sky. "Why the Hell are you doing this?"_

_Her eyes widened as a hazy mirage of golden eyes appeared before her._

"_**Girl…"**_

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><p><em><strong>Gaara pov (Feel free to squeal to your hearts content)<br>**_

Gaara stared at the pale face peeking out from under black covers. She was so fragile looking, with her pale complexion and lithe physique. It made his fingers itch just looking at her. Itch for what? He didn't know. Perhaps they yearned to strangle the life from her or feel her sweet blood spilling over his flesh. The thought made his throat dry. She surely would have unimaginably heady blood, because just from his perch on her desk chair his mouth was watering at her faint fragrant scent permeating the room.

Weak.

That was the word that should've described the girl curled on the mattress in front of him. That was the word he'd first deemed her form when she'd emerged from the shadows in the alley.

But it wasn't true.

And it made him angry.

Who would've thought that the thin girl was so strong, so fast? It wasn't anywhere near a ninjas' abilities but for one not having trained their chakra and who had only dedicated minimal time to training her body it was an incredible achievement. That's why he'd bothered saying his name when they'd met; because she'd managed to catch his attention- if only a little. His attention didn't excuse the fact that she was supposed to be pathetic and feeble though. He couldn't understand it! His hand gripped his hair tightly and he trembled. Why was she like this? Kankuro easily could over power her, Temari could too, and it was obvious he himself could but she somehow always slipped through their defenses somehow. She almost managed to escape _twice_ when they were traveling to her house. He scowled deeply. They were ninja, she was a civilian with martial arts training but she was still a civilian who didn't even know she had chakra. How was it that he, Sabaku no Gaara, was kept on his toes by someone like her? Maybe it was because her chakra reacted automatically to the danger he presented?

The thought held merit.

In actuality the girl, this _Aya,_ had the most chakra he'd sensed since appearing here in this place with his siblings. Even more than Temari and Kankuro, if only by a tiny bit.

This place was peculiar in more ways than just looks and though it seemed the two he'd come with didn't seem to notice yet, this world seemed to muffle chakra. His, Temaris', and Kankuros' chakra levels were currently been less than they had been in years. On top of that, his connection to Shukaku was fainter too. The Demon had hardly said a word except a few mumbled cries for blood that were easily ignored and shouted warnings when the girl attempted to flee.

That was something else that was bothering Gaara.

Why did Shukaku care if she ran off?

Finding no answer Gaara snarled wordlessly into the dark room and turned his eyes on the room he was sitting in. It was disgustingly small compared to his with white walls that held no pictures or posters of any kind. The metal desk structure the chair he was sitting on belonged under was to his right; the plain door was to his left, a simple closet was behind him and to the left while the girls' bed was shoved parallel to the wall underneath the window, her head in the direction of her desk.

She'd come up here after cleaning the kitchen and showing them to the guest room- surprisingly that room had been much bigger than this one and held two twin beds and a pullout couch. Gaara had been sure she'd come to look for a weapon of some sort so he had followed to make sure she didn't find anything that would cause a problem later on. To his wonder she merely did what she'd told him she would do and went to sleep. How naïve and foolish that was when she was in a house of ninja? It was incredibly stupid. In the end he had snuck in to watch her sleep incase she'd somehow sensed him outside her door and was waiting to strike late at night. Not that she would've succeeded even if she had.

Under the covers the body of the one he watched shifted and she let out a groan, eyes darting beneath her lids before she shuddered and curled in on herself.

Gaara tilted his head curiously. Was she experiencing what Temari referred to as a 'nightmare'? He had a vague idea of the phrase- he was convinced it was something akin to what he had experienced when he was younger and was inexperienced enough to let the temptation of sleep overcome him- but had never really been able to tell if it was as horrifying an experience as the Demon within him gnawing on his mind or if it was different somehow.

Tentatively, he reached out with one sand smoothed finger and let the tip trace over one delicate eyelid. He felt the cool texture and pulled back with a hiss of displeasure pushed through his clenched teeth.

Another thing that was infinitely bothering him: Gaara could touch her without any sand coming in between them. The thought made him glower dangerously at the unaware female in front of him. He didn't like this world and he didn't like the weapons of it and he certainly did not like the girl. It would make everything so much easier to just kill her and get it over with. Let the city workers come, Shukaku always hungered for more blood.

Expectantly he waited for the Demon to respond with heart felt crows of delight and crude comments to egg him on to blind massacre. No response came.

His brow furrowed slightly, not enough for someone to realize it had happened but enough that his muscles tensed. The absence of the Demon made him uneasy. It had been doing that often since he'd appeared in the grass; disappearing from his mind at times or staying completely silent for any amount of time. It was highly disturbing.

Absently he flicked his gaze to the girl again and growled quietly. It seemed he'd be leaving her to live… A blood thirsty grin stretched across his face in a fashion that most likely would've looked morbidly deranged on the face of the child he was supposed to be but now looked malevolent and somehow almost morbidly fitting on his older features.

…For now…

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><p>Gaara's contemplating homicide AGAIN surprise surprise...<p>

Hope you enjoy Gaara's POV and the over all crazyness my writing always ensues

I'll try to get the next one out before break is over

Ciao!

REVIEW/FAV

thx for reading!


	5. Studies are not for the Faint of Heart

**THIS IS NOT AN UPDATE SORRY! THERE WERE A FEW THINGS ABOUT THIS CHAPTER THAT BOTHERED ME AND I HAD TO (try to) FIX. (Google translate is not the best of places to get Japanese sentences and I might stop using it)**

Hello everyone, sorry for the long time...things have been really stressed.  
>Thanks everyone for Reviewing<p>

Moka-girl: Hahah that would mean Gaara having to cooperate but I see your point with the romance. I actually have almost five layers planned for him to get through before he realizes that he cares for her. ^^

Lady-Draconisia- Wonderful! This means that the voices were the characters and not another sign of insanity lol. Thank you for the review and encouragement.

Lamiko- Ooops did I over do the suspense? Haahah. Sorry, I tend to forget when I update and what I update since I'm on two sites. Apologies for my forgetfulness!

Thank you all!

I Own none of the sand siblings, and I will tell you flat out most of the sentences in Japanese are compliments of google-translate. Not very accurate I know!

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><p>Chapter 5 Studies are not for the Faint of Heart<p>

"Ayame…" a deep timbre drawled as thirty pairs of eyes immediately locked on the two newcomers. Aya felt like hitting her head against the wall at her stupidity. Of course she'd had to be late for the first time in her high school career on this exact date when she was introducing an otherworld serial killer that just so happened to be possessed by a Japanese demon to the class. She'd known he'd draw attention but she'd wanted to avoid situations involving formal introductions… situations identical to the one she was now trapped in.

Putting on a sheepish grin she acted like she hadn't heard his 'explain' tone. "Yes Mr. Smith?" she asked innocently.

He narrowed his beady eyes on her and leaned back in his chair. "Let's say I let your tardiness slide because this is the first time you've ever been late and you don't have to go explain to the office the why in that situation and have them call home." He said drolly. "You still have no excuse for the young man behind you." Seeing he wasn't going to ignore that fact Aya sighed and dropped the smile.

"He's my pen pal from Japan and came over here to experience the American way of life," She lied smoothly. Deftly, her hand waved to the clock. "Since my mom's at work he had to come with me to school."

Being the lazy teacher he was Mr. Smith merely nodded, believing her words completely. "Would he like to introduce himself?" he asked.

Aya looked over at a glaring Gaara who now looked very new-age in the clothes Aya had spent hours convincing him to put on. A black Metallica shirt adorned his torso, and a bracelet of spikes clung loosely to his left wrist matching slightly with the stylized necklace pendant in a kanji for 'darkness' dangling from a cord around his neck. For safety purposes involving her own health she'd let him keep the ninja pants- it wasn't like they looked much different than Goth attire anyways- and had had to practically force him into 'DC' footwear at her own peril. Shooting him a glare Aya absently rubbed a clothed arm where newly cut flesh stung beneath bandages. The only reason he hadn't killed her is because during when he'd been crushing her with sand he'd figured out wearing clothes like this was the only way to blend in.

Switching languages Aya fingered a loose thread dangling from her worn shirt. "He wants you to introduce yourself." The look he gave her said it all: if her teacher attempted to order him around in anyway the sand user would not hesitate to kill him. _'I take that as a no then….'_ Aya thought. She was going to turn away and leave him to his homicidal thoughts when she realized something and faced him again. "Do you want them to know your real name or want a fake one?" Once again, all she got was a glance but that really was all the answer she needed.

Putting on a false smile she switched back to English and looked at the class. "He's a little shy so I'll introduce him. Class, Kobayashi Hiromasa. Hiromasa-san, class." She said shortly. She had thought about calling him 'kun' just for the heck of it but somehow knew that he'd get her back even before they headed home and no one would be the wiser. Damn ninja.

"Okay Ayame, since he's your pen pal he'll sit with you at the back of the class until the end of the hour." Mr. Smith sighed. "I don't expect him to do the work but I won't tolerate continuous talking, and if things get too…exciting for you to handle I'll send him up to the office for the rest of the day."

At his words Ayas' eye twitched spastically for a second before she could stop it and nod stiffly. "Of course." She gestured for Gaara to follow her and made her way over to the two back seats stowed away in a corner surrounded by a wave of empty seats and plopped down in the one second from the last. Predictably Gaara took the one farthest to the back directly behind her. He shifted for a few moments and then settled so that it seemed like he wasn't even breathing he was making so little sound. It unnerved Aya.

He was sitting there.

Watching her.

Those cold eyes that couldn't decide whether they were blue or green just boring into her back in an emotionless stare that could penetrate walls of steel.

She wasn't so naïve as to think she was his sole focus. No; she might be the one receiving the pressure of his gaze but she knew he would be searching the class. Checking for potential threats and no doubt sighting all points of exit.

Trying to keep her focus away from her unstable, homicidal baby-sitter Aya shrugged off her bag, got out her materials and directed her gaze to the board Mr. Smith was scribbling on. Minutes crawled by and concentration was becoming harder to grasp. Her hand was writing the words but her mind seemed to have trouble staying on topic. Gaara was an enigma. One she'd never really taken the time to think over; to ponder over the questions and answers for. Before yesterday he'd been just another made up character inked to life through an artist's hand; nothing more nothing less. Not a person to analyze or relate to. Sympathize; of course. Who wouldn't when a character's left by his own father to a childhood of attack, hatred and selfish single-minded usage? That had been all though. No over thinking. No delving deeper. It was two dimensional while she was three. Of course none of those things had stopped Liza from obsessing and pulling apart any and every profile consisting of information of said sand user but that was a silly school girl crush on a anime character that she only had started liking because of his 'heroic deeds after finding the truth'. It would pass and she'd find another person- fictional or not- to train her attention on. She didn't have to deal with a living breathing killer watching her every move for a mistake to sand her for.

Just the thought made Aya grip her pencil with enough force that the plastic cracked. Violence swirled dangerously within her. She wanted to turn around and give the sand-jerk a piece of her mind- a particularly sharp piece that she would plunge over and over into his sleep deprived eyes just to watch blood tears stream from his glaring gaze. Her pencil gave another splintering protest. Aya would've turned around and done what her mind dictated she do if one major fact didn't remain. This. Was. Gaara.

And that brought her back to square one: being helpless to the now totalitarian dictatorship Gaara ruled: her home.

Freaking peachy.

The teacher cleared his throat and slammed a book down, gaining Aya's attention. "Aya, would you mind taking time out of your busy schedule to answer my question?"

Inwardly she sighed. It appeared that even when manga came to life school still managed to push its way into things.

* * *

><p>"Hahaha… Hi Aya, ummm…. Would you mind introducing me to your cute friend?" A flirty blonde questioned, leaning over the table to get as close as possible to the redheaded boy. Aya groaned and rubbed her temples. This had become a reoccurring event. Gaara follows Aya, girls follow Gaara, and therefore dimwitted girls try to gain his friendship through her. <em>'Kill me now…'<em> Aya was almost to the point of just stepping aside and letting them get what they deserved from the sand boy… almost… so very, very close… yet her stupid morals were getting in the way and not letting her leave the girls to be buried in sand…damn.

"Hiromasa Kaylee. Kaylee Hiromasa." Aya said tiredly, not looking up from poking her food.

Kaylee frowned. "He's, like, foreign, right? So, how is he going to know what you're saying?"

'_Why can't I just eat this slop in some sort of semblance of peace?'_

Past caring for her own wellbeing, and just wanting to do whatever it took to get the girl away, Aya turned to a brooding Gaara who was coolly gazing at his 'mystery meat'. _'Told him not to get it.'_ Aya thought absently before tapping the table besides him and quickly switching languages.

"Oi, this is Kaylee."

Gaara glanced at the girl then back to Aya. "Hn."

Aya took that as 'and why do I care?' and grunted. "I don't know why you care I'm only doing this so she'll go away." With that she mentally flipped back to English and faced Kaylee again.

"There."

"Soooo, what did he say?"

Aya looked at the girl; and twitched. She had been standing. Right. There. Directly in front of them. The only utterance from Gaara being 'Hn' and that was universal. So why was the girl standing here still?

"That he's delighted to meet you." Aya deadpanned. "Now leave."

Apparently Kaylee had a 'logic deflector' installed In her brain, because she ignored Aya and proceeded to inch closer to Gaara. "I really like your hair." She said throatily. "It's the most unique color…"

Hadn't this girl been lecturing her on him not understanding the language a few moments ago?

Gaara, finally annoyed enough to give the girl his attention, sent a glare her way that made a chill run down Aya's spine. "Damare." He grumbled.

"EEEK!" The girl shrieked. "You're accent is sooooo incredibly sexy!"

Aya wanted to slap herself. The girl was literally squealing over being told to shut up and at this point Aya just wanted to eat. So when Gaara looked over at her to get the girl away from him she ignored him and began eating, eyes glazed and focused on the far wall.

"Say something else!" the girl squealed. "How about 'love' in Asian? Ooh ooh ooh! What about 'dearest'?"

A sharp scraping sensation crawled around Aya's wrist. She ignored it and continued to inspect the far wall. The pressure increased dramatically and she let out a yelp, looking down to find sand soaking up the newly opened wound at her wrist. Stupid sand ninja… She finally turned to look at the red head with a disgruntled glare.

"Nani?" she snapped irritably.

"Anata ga kanojo o damaranai baai, watashi wa kanojo o korosudeshou." He said softly.

It took a second to comprehend but then Aya blinked up at him stupidly. A threat of death over _this_? Really? She bit her lip to keep from shouting at the demon host. This wasn't the Naruto world! You couldn't just go around killing and slaughtering people because they annoy you!

Her eyes sharpened and she leaned closer to Gaara who stayed his usual stoic self.

"Aya? What did he say Aya?"

She ignored the girl and set her jaw. "Kono yōna orokana riyū no tame ni hito o koroshite mawaru koto ga dekimasen." She snarled.

"Watch me." He stated plainly, his gaze boring into her.

He was serious. Aya swallowed roughly then looked down at her plate for a few seconds. Her eyes lifted and she finally met Kaylee's questioning stare.

"Get out of here." She said lowly.

The girl blinked spastically before sputtering in outrage. "Wh-what are you saying?! You can't just—"

"I can, and I just did. Now either you scurry along now… Or I'll make you."

Her eyes went to Gaara then Aya then Gaara again before she pushed up off the table with an indignant "Hmmph!" and stomped away. Aya watched her with blank eyes and a pinched twist to her lips. After a moment she blinked and turned back to the ever-stoic jinchuriki.

"Happy?" she snapped, "You've drawn more attention to me than I have myself in three years and managed to get me on peoples bad side." He didn't seem to react to her words and her ire mounted, and her eyes flashed. Her hand slammed down on the table, leaning forward. "Are you even listening to me?" She hissed. "Just because you're some big shot in your world doesn't mean you can act this way. You're in mine now Gaara." Her lips curled into a sneer as she skipped the honorific in his name. "Things are differe—"

The words were cut off as sand that had wound its way under her shirt attacked her side viciously and she hissed in a breath. 'Not so different' She mentally acknowledged. He still had no problem and still held the power to do so. Essentially She was the one that had gotten the short end of the stick.

"Gomen…" she muttered under her breath. The sand tightened a bit before releasing its bruising force, and from between her lashes she saw Gaara pick up his fork and casually take a bite of the mystery meat. The realiztation that he didn't even care enough to see how she was dealing with the torment made her slightly nausea. Her life meant that little to him.

When they finished the meal, her having to throw away a good portion of her meal because the sand ninja ate so fast, she lead him from the cafeteria with tired eyes. These hours had been the longest in her life. Her shoulders slumped minutely before she forced them back up. She wouldn't let him win, even in this. Her ears picked up the sound of rowdy boys coming down the hall and she cut her eyes to the side. A large boy with mean eyes and a slimy grin walked past, blowing her a kiss.

Her fists clenched.

Travis.

Anger swirled up within her but she forced it down with a practiced coolness. Even if she wanted to rip out his perfect blonde hair strand by strand and stuff it down his throat (among other things) she couldn't. She had no proof and she'd be the one locked up. She turned her head to watch him enter the lunch room. She'd never wanted to humiliate and harm someone so badly.

Because his father had been in the prison all those years ago, and she knew he had done something to her mother, or at least had been a part of it. How? He taunted her with the knowledge of it, cunningly being sure not to say much more than imply things.

She swallowed hard.

The things he implied were horrifying.

"Nani?" Gaara murmured besides her apathetically. His voice, though extremely unwelcome, broke her from her frozen state. Tearing her eyes away from the boy she focused her attention on the ground before them and stuffed her hands into her hoodie pockets.

"Nothing important." She said. She failed at keeping all of the bitterness out of her voice but she just amounted that to the emotional instability of housing a group of fictional killers in her house against her will. After all, she'd had years of hiding her true feelings. Why would now be different? Keeping that in mind, Aya forced her legs to move and set a moderate pace towards Chemistry.

Never noticing how Gaara's eyes smoothly flitted from her, to the group of boys, and back again.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the filler-ness of this section but Ayame needs to develop as well.<p>

Tell me what you think!

Should I speed the plot up a little more? I don't want to rush this part but things get a lot more exciting later on.

Review/Fav

Thank you for reading!

**Add in: Vocabulary/ Translation-**

**Damare: Shut up **

**Anata ga kanojo o damaranai baai, watashi wa kanojo o korosudeshou: This should be something to the affect of 'If you do not shut her up I will kill her' but googles changing the translation every time I double check it so *flips a desk***

**Kono yōna orokana riyū no tame ni hito o koroshite mawaru koto ga dekimasen: You will not be able to go around killing people for stupid reasons like this**

**ALL OF THE JAPANESE WAS BASED ON GOOGLE-TRANSALTE, IF SOMETHING IS SAID OR USED WRONG FORGIVE ME.**

**By the way everyone I'm having a terrible time with google translate and since I'm only just getting through hiragana and katakana now moving onto learning kanji I have no clue how to make sentences in Japanese grammatically correct and my vocabulary is very limited though I try. If anyone can either suggest a better translator that's at least constant in its translations or if someone who knows Japanese fluently could kindly help me out every once in a while that would be greatly appreciated! It really kills me on how inaccurate I'm being and I'm most likely going to have to cut down on the Japanese to just words and phrases I know even though I really like to put languages into my writing. Just a heads up, I will be going back to see if I can see any more translation catastrophes most likely in all of my stories. Any further mistakes you'll have to forgive me for because I really am trying my best with the resources provided for me -.-''.**

**Thanks for the support. I'm going to get to typing through the rest of the next chapter minus most of the Japanese and get it out as fast as possible.**

**Ja ne (Bye)**


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